By Ed Coghlan 600 people have registered for the 3rd Annual Midwest Pain Treatment Education Expo in Northbrook, Illinois this Saturday (August 12th). The registration is double last year’s event. It’s the brainchild of Gracie Bagosy-Young, a chronic pain patient advocate who is a frequent contributor to the National Pain Report. “I conceived the Expo…

By Ed Coghlan

600 people have registered for the 3rd Annual Midwest Pain Treatment Education Expo in Northbrook, Illinois this Saturday (August 12th). The registration is double last year’s event.

Gracie Bagosy-Young

It’s the brainchild of Gracie Bagosy-Young, a chronic pain patient advocate who is a frequent contributor to the National Pain Report.

“I conceived the Expo so that patients can see and experience a multitude of treatment options,” she told the National Pain Report recently. “They will hear about more options at the Expo than they might in their own doctor’s offices. In addition, the Expo is an excellent opportunity for pain patients to meet in person and share their experiences.”

The event, which is co-sponsored by the US Pain Foundation, has attracted a number of interesting medical providers who will share their expertise.

“We’ve put an outstanding agenda together with many great guest speakers,” she said. “There seems to be particular interest in the medical marijuana issue.”

Liz Elliott & Michael Richards of PharmaCannis will discuss medical marijuana which has now been approved in half the states and is on the ballot in Florida this November.

In addition to the PharmaCannis presentation, other guest speakers include:

Melissa Geraghty Psy.D. is a health therapist at Rago and Associates who is well known in the chronic pain community who will discuss how to communicate with pain patients at the Expo.

Jay Joshi of National Pain Centers is a nationally known pain physician. He is a key opinion leader nationally and has been critical of the national news coverage of the opioid controversy. He believes that the way pain is treated needs to be vastly improved.

Marco De La Cruz of Whole Health Wellness will speak about the important of nutrition, how to identify food allergies and the importance of hormone restoration in the treatment of pain.

Adam Young of the RUSH University Pain Center will speak on spinal cord stimulation and other techniques he and his partners use to battle chronic pain.

Plans are already underway for the 4th annual event in August, 2017.

“We are providing a great educational service for pain sufferers, providers and others,” Bagosy-Young added.